


CatCalled

by but_why_not, FurorNocturna



Series: Molly Stories [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental First Kiss, Dorks in Love, Gen, Getting Together, Love Confessions, M/M, Molly is an absolute troll, Swearing, a silly idea based off a post I found, butt dial shenanigans, by gays for gays, she’s unashamed and does bastard cat things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23986582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/but_why_not/pseuds/but_why_not, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FurorNocturna/pseuds/FurorNocturna
Summary: Sonic just wants to sleep after a long day.This is derailed by a persistent late night caller.What happens next may surprise you.
Relationships: Shadow the Hedgehog/Sonic the Hedgehog
Series: Molly Stories [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737547
Comments: 59
Kudos: 162





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Big thank you to but_why_not for all their help with this :D

Sonic was tired.

Empty tank, dead on his feet _tired_.

It had been a long day of trashing badniks, helping Tails test out new Tornado upgrades and inventions, paying back several owed solids for Rouge (read: going on multiple fetch quests retrieving deliveries for her club), trashing badniks _again_ , and doing last minute emergency favors for Vanilla and the Chaotix.

Oh, and there was helping that weird cat get unstuck from whatever insane location she had gotten herself into for that day. For the past month or so, these encounters had become part of the blue blur’s daily routine. It never failed to baffle Sonic seeing every which way this strange tiny cat would manage to get herself into the predicaments he found her in. He’d actually been passing through the city, fast enough to leave gusts of wind in his wake, when he first met the kitten. She’d somehow detached a set of fancy looking wind chimes that missed his head by a _millimeter_. Sonic had skidded to a stop, looking around wildly for the culprit. A yowl then caught his attention from the tree and he realized that a cat was stuck in a tree and yelling. Actually yelling.

Nevertheless, the blue hero couldn’t turn away an animal friend in need and despite the ceaseless reoccurrence of it every day since, he couldn’t bring himself to get mad at the weird kitty for it either. She made the very notion impossible with her big gold eyes and how sweetly affectionate she was with showing her gratitude after each rescue before scampering off on her merry way.

If he didn’t know any better, he was starting to suspect she was doing this on purpose just to get his attention.

By the time he was finally able to go home, Sonic wanted nothing more than to crash into his bed and pass out for a week. A year would’ve been preferable, but the world had issues with not bursting into flames when unsupervised for more than seven days.

The blue hedgehog moved on autopilot as he set foot through the front door. A mini trip through the kitchen, down a glass of water and leftover chili dog, drop by the garage and let Tails know he was home and hitting the sack. Then it was up the stairs, down the hall, quick stop to brush his teeth, and straight to his room to the final destination of the night: his bed.

Sonic flopped into his pillow with open arms.

Did he remember to take his shoes off? No matter. The time now was for bed. 

His eyes hadn’t been closed for more than two seconds when his cell rang.

♪ Rollin’ around at the speed of sound~ ♪

♪ Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow _!_ ♪

The hero fumbled about for the phone that was somewhere on his nightstand. Half-blinded from the screen light, he poked at the phone testily until he answered the call successfully.

“Hello?”

Sonic frowned when he didn’t get an answer from the other caller. When the line remained silent after he repeated himself a few times, Sonic hung up.

 _Probably a wrong number_ , he figured, absently kicking his shoes off then turning over to go to sleep.

Except his phone rang again. Snatching it up, he answered again.

“Hello?” he repeated, a hint more irritation leaking into his tone this time.

Still no answer. So he hung up.

Only for the damn phone to ring a third time the instant he did.

“Hello?!” Sonic snapped. 

Once again. No reply.

Just a low crackling static from the other end.

“I don’t know who this is. I think you have the wrong number,” Sonic huffed, straining to keep his voice level. “Please stop calling me.”

The blue hedgehog ended the call. When it didn’t immediately start buzzing and sounding his ringtone, Sonic wanted to rejoice. He set it down on his night stand and curled back into the covers.

_Finally. I can go to–  
_

♪ Rollin’ around at the speed of sou– ♪

Quick as a whip, Sonic swiped the phone off his nightstand and silenced it before placing it facedown. Settling back under the covers, he turned his back to it again, squeezing his eyes shut.

 _Just ignore it,_ he told himself _. They’ll get bored and give up soon enough._

So he left it alone, letting the call go to voicemail. 

However, it rang again moments later. And it kept ringing. And ringing. And ringing. _And ringing._

Somehow, Sonic scrounged up enough self-control to not smash the device or toss it full force at the wall or out his window. The fact that it also never occurred to him to simply turn off the phone or block the number either at the time was besides the point. The hedgehog was operating on a basic, sleep-deprived state and logic was beyond the reach of his sluggish mind.

Instead, Sonic’s groggy brain insisted on burying his head under his pillow to block out the sound and mentally will the annoyance to stop as the best course of action.

Understandably, this only served to aggravate the hero even more when this tactic failed to yield the desired results.

 _What is the deal with this guy?!_ he grumbled as he picked up his cell to confirm this with his notifications as the umpteenth call went to voicemail.

**8 missed calls.**

All from the same number. All within a minute of each other, and no voicemails left by the caller of said number in between calls.

Unbelievable.

♪ Rollin’ arou– ♪

Sonic _had_ liked that song a lot before tonight. Frustration flared up through his weary consciousness and he forcefully pressed the green answer button.

“WHAT?! Who are you!?” Sonic yelled into the device. “What do you want from me??! If this is a prank, haha! Really funny! You had your fun, so you can stop now!! It’s late, I’m tired, I just want to sleep!!”

A low growl reverberated in his throat as the spamming caller still had the gall to give no response.

“Say something, damn you!” he demanded, patience run threadbare.

The static crackled through the speaker, just like before, followed by something that made him pause.

“What?”

At first he thought he was just hearing things, but sure enough, the sound crackled through, distinct.

A _meow_.

“What? Is that a cat? Wha…What is this?!” Sonic bayed in disbelief.

He was answered with more meowing and the strange static from before. Except the static would abruptly stop whenever a meow came through. It took a moment, but Sonic dimly realized that the rumbling, static sound might be _purring_.

“Hello? Hello.” His voice echoed and rang out distantly as if he was on speaker.

“Umm…meow?” Sonic found himself trying for whatever reason, faintly questioning what his life was becoming.

_This has to be some wacky dream. Or a terrible, exhausting, unending nightmare more like._

Rhythmic thudding grew louder through the speaker and through his woozy state, Sonic was able to determine the noise to be stomping footsteps. This was then accompanied by the sound of a door slamming and shouting.

::‘I don’t know who you are, but you made a grave mistake breaking and entering into MY home!! SHOW YOURSELF!!’::

Sonic’s breath hitched in surprise.

So apparently he _had_ been put on speakerphone (somehow) and had also been loud enough to make someone else think there was an intruder in their home.

The someone in question also sounded faintly familiar. Not that he could think straight enough at the moment to pinpoint it. Whoever they were, they were clearly pissed, their hostility bleeding through the end of his line.

::‘I’m giving to the count of three!’:: the voice threatened, Sonic going pale hearing what sounded uncomfortably like the cocking of a _firearm_.

“Hey hey! Easy! There’s no need for that!” the blue blur called out in what he hoped was a placating tone.

::‘Faker, you’ve got some nerve!! What the _hell_ are you doing in my house at this hour!?’:: was snarled back at him.

That nickname. Recognition clicked into place as Sonic realized who the voice belonged to. The knowledge didn’t make it any less mind-boggling.

_Wait, that’s…Shadow?_

Even though one part of the mystery had been solved, it only presented him with more questions. Why was Shadow calling and threatening him for… being in his house? He blinked at the covers around him.

Yup, still his bed.

“Um I’m…I’m not? Wait, this is _your_ number? Why are you calling ME this late? Since when did you get _my_ number?”

Shadow growled. ::‘Number–? The hell are you talking about? It’s 1 in the godsdamn morning, hedgehog, what the fuck are you–’::

He was cut off by a trilling mew from the mystery kitty.

“And why is there a cat?” Sonic added, wanting to know whether that was real or a figment conjured by his fatigued imagination.

He knew Shadow had a soft spot for felines, but as far as he knew, he didn’t have any pets. Then again, Shadow wasn’t exactly a ‘tell me what’s new’ kinda guy.

Was this a recent thing, or did a stray cat somehow break into Shadow’s place? Or was the cat here not even real to begin with?

Honestly, just what was _happening_ right now?

::‘Not now, it’s too early to be dealing with your nonsense as well.’:: Shadow groused, words slightly slurred together. 

Sonic’s eye ridges furrowed. The way Shadow worded that made it seem as if he was addressing someone else other than him.

::‘What are you even…is that my– _MOLLY_!’::

_"Molly"? Does he mean–?_

::‘You little fucker, did you actually steal my damn phone? I was looking for that all day yesterday!’:: Shadow reprimanded heatedly. 

::‘Why do you have it stashed in…the _clean_ laundry hamper, of course it’s _that_ one you decide to… _you have your own bed!_ And over a dozen other more adequate options to choose from for sleeping accommodations that _aren’t_ an inconvenience to your caretaker!’::

Molly merely meowed cutely and purred louder in response, prompting a scoff from the beleaguered hedgehog.

::‘Don’t give me that. I know your true colors, you tiny furball demon! I’m not rewarding your shameless misconduct!’::

No, yeah.

Molly was definitely Shadow’s pet cat.

Sonic still had no idea on the history or full details entailed with this new knowledge, but there was no mistaking his rival’s cat owner status now.

Under less sleep-deprived (and bizarre) circumstances, the blue blur would’ve appreciated the highly amusing exchange he was overhearing for what it was actually worth.

This Molly seemed to be quite the troublemaker for his uptight frenemy.

::‘Give me– give it back! _Molly_! … …’::

More rustling and thudding sounded through the speaker, the occasional protesting mewling and exasperated huffs peppered in. Whatever it was, Sonic thought muzzily, it seemed to be a real struggle.

The scuffle lasted another minute or so before, to the best Sonic could guess, Shadow successfully reclaimed his cell.

::‘You can’t keep doing this shit, you hellcat. It was bad enough having to explain to Rouge after that time you stole one of her bras…’:: Shadow chastised his mischievous mouser, going quiet for an awkward pause before speaking again. 

::‘… … Why is it showing there’s an ongoing ca… _Molly, what in the godsdamn hell!!?_ How the _fuck_ did you manage this?! How did you even bypass the _passcode_ to pull this shit off!?’:: 

At this point, Sonic thought, if Eggman walked in dancing disco complete with the sequin blazer, the bell-bottoms, pumps, and an oversized afro wig, he’d fit right in with the outlandish scenario. Sonic was more than accustomed to weirdness in the trade of heroics, but traveling to storybook lands and alien planet amusement parks still made more sense than the surreality of what he was experiencing right now. Even the ridiculousness of that time Egghead launched a space shuttle from his pyramid base had some logical explanation behind it (a very far-fetched one, but an explanation nonetheless).

But this?

Sonic was just left at a loss. The lifestyle of a hero meant expecting the unexpected the norm for any situation, but….well, this one involved _Shadow._

One thing was becoming apparent, however. _Shadow’s cat_ had been the culprit responsible for denying him sleep.

“Shadow…” Sonic began slowly. “…are you saying that your cat freaking _butt dialed me_?”

Silence.

All at once, there was another flurry of clamoring and commotion that sounded over the line before the call cut off abruptly. Sonic blinked in the darkness, brain feeling like it’d been dipped in tar.

 _This,_ he decided with arrant certitude, _is a problem for future me to deal with in the morning._

He set the phone back on the nightstand gently, giving a silent plea for it not to start ringing again. Thankfully, the rest of the night was mercifully silent without any further incident, and Sonic was allowed to catch those coveted zzz’s at long last.

oo00oo

Elsewhere, a certain black hedgehog had lost the battle against his clever feline, who’d escaped gleefully into the night from her caretaker’s wrath. At this hour and in the state he was, Shadow was simply too tired to care.

Feeling like weights were attached to the ends of his eyelids, Shadow merely left his own phone in the nightstand drawer, sinking back into his cool bed. 

So long as his cell was somewhere out of Molly’s reach, this bullshit could wait until after he got his 6 hours and he regained the cognition to better comprehend what had transpired.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is here.
> 
> Update: Now featuring art by the beautiful AriGee_Artist and magnificent Tharkflark1

The shrill scream of his alarm clock cut through the quiet morning air, rousing the adjacent groaning, surly figure from the nearby bedside.

 _Whoever invented this infernal tocsin did so purposefully to recreate the din of hell itself,_ he cursed it murderously.

Shadow slammed the ‘off’ button with more force than was necessary, staring at his ceiling the whole while. The paltry hours of sleep he’d managed to catch had done nothing to get rid of the bone-deep exhaustion he was feeling. The past 72 hours had been filled with nothing but mindless meetings, back-to-back missions and equally aggravating consecutive hours of paperwork reports on said missions; this of course all courtesy of GUN, who derived sadistic pleasure in exploiting the Ultimate Lifeform’s ability to go without sleep _a little too often_.

Settling back into the covers, Shadow was determined to spend his day off doing his best imitation of a non-animate object. He grumbled contentedly, all too pleased with spending the day dead to the world, but something niggled at the back of his mind. Something he’d forgotten? Molly’s food and water bowl had been sufficiently refilled...

A small weight landed on his bed, as if beckoned by thought alone. The colorful Abyssinian-Devon Rex hybrid meowed insistently, padding towards him.

_Speak of the damn devil…_

“Now what do you want?” he chided the kitten, but nevertheless began scratching behind Molly’s ears.

A buzz sounded out from his nightstand, distracting Shadow from Molly’s morning scritches, much to her annoyance. Grabbing his phone from the drawer, he realizes that it’s a text. One of several actually, from Sonic of all people.

He frowned.

 _Wait._

**Blue Faker:** Shads, what was with last night?

 **Blue Faker:** I wuz only half-conscious @ the time i was so tired, but i hurd ur voice and wen i checked my notifs when I woke up an it still sez i got 9 calls from this # last night

 **Blue Faker:** what gives

 **Blue Faker:** im only gonna come ask u in person if u dont reply b4 noon

It all came rushing back. 

The ‘intruder’, Molly’s thievery, and the mortifying realization that she had somehow managed to unlock his phone and call the one person he was doing his damned best to avoid.

Molly had leapt off the hamper after his exclamation when he discovered what she had done, sending it, its contents and his phone tumbling. He’d ended the call completely by chance after diving to the ground in his haste to catch said phone. Now here she was purring at him from his lap, acting like everything was peachy despite exposing his contact information to the last person he wanted to give it to in the most humiliating way imaginable.

Shadow gave his kitty pet the stink eye. “…I cannot believe you.”

He should still have plenty of time to get some rest in before Sonic decided to make good on this threat. Besides, knowing easily distracted the hero could be, something else would catch his attention before noon even came around.

Shadow pulled the covers over his head. If he had to deal with this mess he might as well snooze an hour or so before making his escape.

The Ultimate Lifeform would swear, to this day, that he had closed his eyes for only a few, brief seconds, before the cacophony of knocking tore him from the precious respite.

Blinking the remnants of sleep away, he stared at his phone, willing the numbers to make sense.

11:59 A.M.

 _No._ It couldn’t be that late. There was no way he slept that late. 

The knocking continued, loud and insistent.

Cursing through gritted teeth Shadow hopped out of bed, stepping over Molly’s weaving form with practiced expertise. He’d just stay quiet, pretend to not be home until the blue hedgehog left.

He tugged on his skates. Just in case.

In his hand his phone buzzed cheekily. Another text message.  
  


 **Blue Faker:** times up. open th door. I kno ur here, i confirmd w/rouge downstairs b4 I shwd up

_  
Dammit, Rouge._

The bat had gotten him into this mess to begin with. No doubt she must think this whole mess was hilarious and would endlessly tease him for it later.

Why could he not just enjoy his day off and sleep without any nonsense?!

**Blue Faker:** Im waaaaaaaaaaaitttiiiing

 **Blue Faker:** Ill kkeep ringin the bell until u answer. U kno i’l do it

The Ultimate LifeForm huffed. He knew very well the blue idiot was stubborn enough to follow through on that threat. Heaving a sigh, he unbolted his locks and opened the door to reveal Sonic.

“What do you want, hedgehog?” Shadow snapped.

“I want to know,” the other began without preamble, “why I got 9. _Freaking_. Back to back. Calls. In the middle of the night last night! From _your cell_ , apparently!”

Shadow groaned into his hand. “…Gaia above, that bullshit actually happened?”

“Yeah, it was a bizarro world trip and a half for me too, but that’s not the point right now!” Sonic puffed. “Why’d you call me that late? And _9 times_ for that matter?”

“First off, _I_ did no such thing,” Shadow said a touch defensively. “Yes, the calls came from my phone, but I was not the caller. That…it was Molly.”

“Molly? That’s your cat, right?”

“Yes.”

“ _She_ did this?”

“Yes. I have no idea how the fuck she did it either.” Shadow sighed wearily, still exhausted.

“You thought I was an intruder.” Sonic’s shit-eating grin was back in full force, brightening his entire doorway. Shadow squinted.

“I heard a voice in my home. It was a reasonable assumption.”

“I heard you draw a _gun._ ”

“Again, not unreasonable. Molly has a habit of hoarding items.” he tacked on dryly by way of explanation. Sooner this was over the sooner he could go back to sleep and pretend to not exist. “Which more often than not, are _my_ belongings. Yesterday, it was my phone.”

Sonic snickered, “Oh Chaos, seriously? …So I was literally being _catcalled_ at 1 in the morning on your phone…by your cat? _Fur real_?”

The glare Shadow leveled on him was positively venomous.

“If the whole purpose of your coming here was to make those awful puns, I’m going to–”

“…How did you get my number?”

“What?”

“Dude. 9 calls in a row. At 1 in the morning.” Sonic deadpanned. “This sorta thing really only happens with established contacts, not random keypad smashes, so how did you get my number for this to happen?”

Shadow would have preferred to be literally anywhere else than to be here having this conversation. If a murderous robot crashed through his apartment wall, he might very well thank it profusely.

“It was Rouge,” he ground out, finally. “She must’ve added it in my phone at some point without me realizing.”

A puzzled looked flashed across Sonic's face. This clearly wasn't the answer he was expecting. "Rouge? Actually, no, that makes sense. Never thought I’d hear the day you’d admit she pulled a fast one on ya, though.” 

Shadow only glared daggers in response. 

“Welp, at least I finally have your number, ey Shads?” he added with an eyebrow waggle, trying to ease some of the tension. “Now I can finally send you stuff and everything. Although you could have just asked, man. I don’t get why you went through all the trouble of having your cat share it when I’ve asked you all those–”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you.” Shadow said scathingly. “You got your answers, now we can move on with our lives. For me, that starts with blocking your contact so there aren’t any repeats of this crap.”

For the first time since he arrived, Sonic flinched at his words.

“Geez. I wasn’t trying to– you know what? Forget it. I don’t know why I still bother.” he muttered, shoulders drawing up defensively. 

A wave of guilt crashed into the Ultimate Lifeform. As much as he tried to quash it, it threatened to sweep him away.

“I–”

A petite dark form brushed past the feet of the two hedgehogs. Turning their gazes downward, they watched as Molly entered the apartment with a large red object in tow. One curiously familiar to the blue hero.

“Is that–”

The kitten turned oh so innocently at the blue hero's words, but Shadow could see she was absolutely dripping with smugness. The little hellion. Light as a feather, she continued her way inside as the two hedgehogs gaped after her.

“Was that my shoe?”

As if taunting them, Molly scampered off deeper into the apartment.

Shadow gave chase, not caring presently that Sonic had come inside to follow the kitten as well. Molly, the tiny terror that she was, took this as an invitation to play a game of keep away. 

Wasting little time, Sonic followed the fleet-footed rascal, brushing past Shadow before he could voice a protest. “Wait! You’re that cat! The one that keeps getting stuck!”

Shadow shot him a puzzled look, moving to follow the two. “What? How the hell do you know my cat?!” 

Before he could get an answer, Molly made a sharp turn down the hallway, Sonic making a beeline after her.

His rival chased Molly straight into his bedroom without a second thought, and it was by sheer force of will that Shadow retained what little remained of his patience. Shadow entered to see her do her telltale pounce wiggle before jumping into the cubby near his closet that often served as her hiding spot.

“This _is_ mine!” Sonic exclaimed, snatching up the shoe from where Molly had abandoned it in her retreat. “Why does your cat have my soap shoes?”

“How the hell should I know?” Shadow crossed his arms, eyeing the cubby suspiciously. It wasn’t small by any means but from this angle he’d almost say it looked… cramped? Walking over, he reached out to gently scoop her out, much to Molly’s dismay.

“Uh, Shads?” Sonic was peering into her cubby, eyes a little wider.

“What?” Molly leapt out of his arms, protesting the invasion of her privacy.

“I think Molly’s hoarding problem goes a little further than just your stuff.” As if to punctuate his statement, he reached in and pulled something out. Suddenly multiple items streamed out, trinkets, clothes, shoes, socks, electronics, all landing with a thud on the floor.

The two hedgehogs gaped at the mini-hoard.

“… _Molly_.” Shadow pinched the center of his muzzle. “No. I’m calling bullshit. There’s no fucking way, that in the span of a night, you stole all of this, plus the shoes all the way from Mystic Ruins–!”

“I left these with Vanilla!” Sonic’s interjection cut him off. “Part of the stitching came loose and she offered to repair them, but when I stopped by her house this morning, she said they had gone missing last night! And the rest of this was stuff from around the neighborhood that was reported missing over the course of the last month or so.”

Shadow facepalmed.

That timeline lined up _exactly_ with when he first adopted Molly.

“On the bright side, now we know it’s not a dangerous serial burglar on the loose,” Sonic piped up. “Vector will also be pleased to get this case wrapped up. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he hears that the culprit is a literal _cat burglar_.”

Fists clenched tightly at his side, Shadow wondered if kittens could be arrested. The fact he was even entertaining such a ridiculous thought was too much and he turned towards the doorway.

“Where are you going?” Sonic asked.

“To punch something for an hour and then back to bed. I’ll deal with this fever dream mind-fuckery when it’s not my day off and I’m not sleep-deprived.”

Molly, of course, decided now was the time to do her best impression of a tripping hazard. She weaved between Shadow’s feet, right in his line of path. This time, her caretaker was not able to dodge her quick enough.

“Shit! _Molly!!_ ”

If falling over in front of his rival wasn’t bad enough, falling into Sonic and the both of them ending up on the floor with him on top of the blue hero was just proof the universe hated him. The scene dragged on as if he was caught in another’s chaos control, moving much too slow and much too fast to change anything. Shadow braced his arms against the floor, trying to avoid any further embarrassment by crushing the blue hedgehog beneath him.

Sonic seemed to be just as surprised, Shadow noted. An eager, expectant look flashed in emerald eyes but before Shadow could collect his bearings and make a swift retreat he felt a distinct, furry weight land on his head and his balance lost all over again.

_Dear Chaos, no._

It was graceless and awkward and he was certain his sharp fangs clicked against Sonic’s bottom lip, but it was still by all technical definition a kiss.

Shadow felt frozen, each second dragging on into years as he felt Molly’s paws on his quills. Shaking her off might very well hurt her, the dark and striped appendages notoriously razor sharp. He was about to pull back, turn away, do anything to break the contact with soft, warm lips when he suddenly felt Sonic _kiss him back_. 

Was this actually–

The spell lasted all of three seconds before Molly finally hopped down, finding his quills a distasteful bed. Shadow crashed back into reality, horror and mortification washing over him as he realized all of what had happened.

“Fuck fuck fuck SHIT!! Molly! What the _fuck!!?_ ” Shadow cursed, scrambling back as soon as the kitten’s feet hit the ground. Sonic was still on his back, a dazed, dreamy look on his face. He slowly blinked the haze away hearing the tension (fear?) in Shadow’s voice.

“Hey hey it’s okay! It’s fine!” Sonic leaned forward towards the black hedgehog. Uncertainty painted his features as Shadow curled away from him. The black hedgehog wasn’t meeting his gaze.

“Why are you so nonchalant about this!!?”

Chuckling nervously, Sonic scratched the back of his head. Leave it to Shadow to kiss him and then yell at him.

“I wouldn’t say _that_ ,” he inched forward along the ground, trying to catch those evasive red eyes. “I guess I’m still not sure how to react? It’s taking a bit to process.”

Shadow only growled, burying his face into his hands.

Sonic made an insulted noise at that. “Hey, it’s not like I was expecting the guy I like to up and kiss me out of the blue like that! What do you want from me here!?”

Shadow’s mind was doing it’s best interpretation of the internet dial-up static.

 _What_.

“Wha–?” he said eloquently, lifting his head up. “The hell do you mean by that?” 

Sonic’s eyes widened comically and he ducked his head, bashful. “Crap, this isn’t how I wanted to confess.”

_What?!_

"Look… _Look_ …" Shadow tried, exhaling harshly before finally stammering out, "That's not funny. You don’t get to just joke about something like this like it’s nothing!" 

The blue idiot was always joking. Always had some wisecrack or funny one-liner to say for everything. No matter how tactless or who it hurt. 

"I'm not joking, Shads," he chuckled at the black hedgehog's dubious glance. “Yeah ok, I mess around a lot, but I don't _lie._ Especially not about something like this. You’re…You’re amazing, really. When we met, sure, you were far from the nicest, but I still had to respect how you could not only keep up with me, but also give me a run for my money in a fight. And both times, when you could barely remember anything about yourself, you never stopped searching and fighting or let anything stand in the way of achieving that. You faced everything head on and it was– Chaos, it was something else. You’ve got like, the strongest sense of self and purpose out of everyone I’ve ever met.” Sonic was rambling now, gaining momentum as he went on.

“You never give up and yeah you’re still a bit of a grump, but anyone who knows you knows how much you really care for your friends and…” he broke off, looking away for the first time, nervous, “…I mean, can you blame me for wanting to be a part of that? For wanting to be someone closer to you?”

Shadow’s mind was reeling, trying desperately to catch up to the words the hero was telling him. The person Sonic was describing, claiming the inconceivable notion that this person he spoke with such esteem was one and the same with _him_.

“And,” A wicked gleam shone in emerald eyes, sincere nonetheless, “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re a hell of a looker, Shads. A super cool person AND one with inhuman good looks? How’s a guy supposed to resist?”

Shadow wasn’t aware Sonic could look at anyone so tenderly, least of all him. 

Mouth agape, the black hedgehog grappled to regain some inkling of composure. It was all so much. This sort of raw affection couldn’t possibly be meant for him.

It was hard to remember his anger at this point, yet it hardly seemed important now. Shadow blinked and exhaled softly, releasing a breath he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding. His own feelings towards the hero had been a personal point of contention for many years, something he kept buried deep; but basking in the warmth of Sonic’s words it hardly seemed necessary.

A hand reached out for his gently, thumb brushing over the tops of his knuckles. Shadow met the blue hedgehog's soft stare again, pouring every ounce of determination, earnestness and fondness one could muster with only their eyes. He then cupped Sonic's hands into his own, squeezing gently as if it were a precious thing.

"It’s never simple with you, is it?" The beginnings of a true smile played on his lips, that alone more vulnerable than any words he could ever manage to string together.

Sonic's smile shone through like rays of sun cutting through a foggy morning, its warmth piercing Shadow’s frigid core.

“When has anything in our lives been simple, Shads?”

“Fair point.” Shadow conceded. “I suppose it was too much to hope for not having to deal with excess complications with more menial conflicts as we do with crises.”

“Hey, you were the one who decided to be all roundabout with getting my number. That’s on you.” Sonic teased. “Though I guess we’ll have to thank Molly for giving us both the push we needed to act on this.”

Shadow scoffed. “Don’t give her _that_ much credit. It goes straight to her ego.”

“Then it’d match her owner’s, wouldn’t it?”

Shadow ignored that. “You never answered how you’re so familiar with my cat and whatever it was you meant about her getting ‘stuck’.”

“Oh yeah!” The hero leaned back, not letting go of his hand. “I run through this area pretty often. The first time, she was stuck in a tree. Launched some windchimes at me right as I was about to a pass through and then meowed until I helped her down.”

Shadow eyed Molly with scrutiny, who was purring contentedly in her spot on Sonic’s lap. She did have a habit of climbing areas she shouldn’t climb, but he knew she was usually good at getting down from them alone.

“Then like every day since then that I’ve come around here, I’ve had to get her unstuck from something new,” Sonic continued. “Bushes, gutters, fences, boxes, pots, raccoon traps, traffic cones, hammocks, windows, window screens, window blinds, cans, shoes, bags, various lawn decor, just about anything you can think of. Never got hurt or anything and it was no trouble to help, though she did scare the hell out of me that one time she managed getting stuck on that skyscraper cleaning platform further downtown.”

Shadow then glared at the kitten.

_So you WERE doing it on purpose!_

Chaos, no wonder Molly had come home in such a good mood the past couple of weeks. Shadow had chalked it up to the new kibble.

Then there was her actions from moments ago–

“…You little _shit_.”

“Hey! Be nice! She had good intentions!” Sonic protested.

“Don’t make excuses for her. That’s exactly what she is.” Shadow disputed. “Little shit kitten.”

“No!” Sonic wailed, holding the cheeky cat away from Shadow’s loving insults.

“Tiny heathen bastard bitch cat.”

“NO!”

“Demon hellspawn.”

“Stooooop! How can you be so mean?!” Sonic whined. “She is an adorable, fluffy little angel who fell from the heavens!”

“So did Lucifer.”

That incited a melodramatic gasp from the other. “How _dare_ you!” 

The scandalized look on Sonic’s face was too much. Shadow laughed, a loud snorting sound that turned into a full fit of laughter at the other’s surprised gawking. Sonic blinked, inevitably drawn in by the contagious sound, until they were both snickering and trying to catch their breath in the face of the day’s events.

“We still need to return all the stuff this sneaky little kitten stole,” Sonic said between laughs.

“I haven’t forgotten.”

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. “And what do you say after that we…you wanna go for lunch or a coffee or something?”

Shadow looked at the blue hedgehog fondly, their hands still joined. "Rouge did tell me of this one café downtown…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls comment and share what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> Drop a comment and share your thoughts!


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